Rat’s painful death haunts woman

Some starve, some die from exposure, dehydration, or suffocation, and others try to chew through their own limbs.

Mankind’s cruelty towards animals is undeniable.

After a Phoenix resident witnessed the slow and painful death of a rodent, she is now attempting to get rodent bait banned.

The resident, who prefers to remain anonymous, elaborates: “Having witnessed firsthand the suffering of these creatures, it will haunt me forever. I want to redeem myself for my bad decision to use these baits (sheets of glue).”

The resident doesn’t know why there are so many rats and mice in Phoenix recently, but she guesses that it could be due to the canal that was closed, overcrowding in neighbouring Joe Slovo Park or the overflowing sewerage pipes.

She just knew the time had come to start ridding the suburb of rodents.

She turned to baits and now she is haunted by the picture of the rat “squirminig and crying for hours until it died a painful death”.

Her neighbour saw a rodent chewing off its own limb.

SPCA’s spokesperson Lise-Marie Greeff-Villet says the baiting of rodents is a difficult topic.

“The mandate of the SPCA is to prevent cruelty to all animals, and none of us want to see even a rat experience the painful death of poisoning.”

The Animals Protection Act (APA) states that a person will be committing an offence if the person “lays or exposes any poison or any poisoned fluid or edible matter or infectious agents except for the destruction of vermin or marauding domestic animals or without taking reasonable precautions to prevent injury or disease being caused to animals”.

Greeff-Villet continues: “According to the APA one is allowed to use poison to destroy vermin if you do it responsibly and take all reasonable precautions to prevent the poison from affecting any other animal (or human). However, the reality is that for the layman to use poison in a controlled and zero risk environment, is almost impossible.

“Death by poisoning is arguably the most cruel and inhumane way to kill an animal, and the Cape of Good Hope SPCA strongly advises that more humane methods of trapping (passive trapping) and destruction be used.

“We are also vehemently opposed to glue traps and any mechanical traps – both instruments that cause immeasurable and prolonged suffering before death.”

***DISCLAIMER: THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN TYGERBURGER, A CAPE TOWN BASED MEDIA24 COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER. IT MAY NOT BE DUPLICATED WITHOUT ACCREDITING THE SOURCE – TYGERBURGER, MEDIA24.***